INDIANAPOLIS – Seven individuals have now been sentenced for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including methamphetamine and marijuana. The defendants had previously been indicted on their charges in 2019 and 2020. The seventh defendant, Mikhail Mgebrov, was sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt.
According to court documents, beginning approximately June 2019 and continuing through December 2019, the group conspired to traffic methamphetamine and marijuana in and around Muncie and Anderson, Indiana. During the months long investigation, law enforcement discovered that large quantities of methamphetamine and marijuana were being shipped from California to various addresses in Muncie and Anderson. The group maintained residences in Muncie and Anderson to store, process, and distribute the drugs and drug proceeds. Multiple members of the conspiracy possessed firearms to protect the organization’s drugs and money. After arriving in Indiana, the drugs were resold to others in Muncie, Anderson, Gosport, and Brazil, Indiana.
To date in this investigation, authorities have seized approximately 1.3 kilograms of methamphetamine as well as marijuana. In addition to drug seizures, authorities have seized over $15,000 in drug proceeds and seven firearms, including one AK-style, short barrel rifle.
To date, Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt has sentenced the following individuals in this case:
|
Sentence |
|
|
James Briscoe, 39, Muncie, Indiana |
23 years in prison, 10 years supervised release |
|
Damarus Page, 40, Anderson, Indiana |
10 years in prison, 5 years supervised release |
|
Bradley Clephane, 37, Gosport, Indiana |
262 months (over 21 years) in prison, 5 years supervised release |
|
Christopher Bays, 36, Brazil, Indiana |
16.5 years in prison, 5 years supervised release |
|
Jeremi Zarco, 31, Woodland Hills, California |
200 months (over 16 years) in prison, 5 years supervised release |
|
James Bell, 43, Muncie, Indiana |
8 years in prison, 3 years supervised release |
|
Mikhail Mgebrov, 39, Tarzana, California |
10 years in prison, 5 years supervised release |
Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Michael Gannon, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Indianapolis Field Office, and Rodney Hopkins, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Detroit Division made the announcement.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Postal Inspection Service investigated this case. The Muncie Police Department, the Anderson Police Department, the Terre Haute Police Department, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, and the Indiana State Police provided valuable assistance.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kendra Klump who prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.